Q. What are Feel Better Friends?
A. Feel Better Friends are handmade dolls stuffed with love and well wishes. Founder Shanon Fouquet came up with the idea when she saw a picture of a little girl, Berkeley who was battling cancer and holding her American Girl doll. Like most little girls who have this popular doll, Berkeley was “twinning”, or dressing identically to her doll.
Shanon looked at this particular photo of this brave little girl who was proud to be going ‘wigless’ to her doctor’s appointment that day and Shanon couldn’t help but wonder if Berkeley would like for her doll to be able to go ‘wigless’ too. It was then that Shanon decided to come up with a handmade doll created just for Berkeley with a wig and matching clothes that could go ‘wigless’ just like her!
Shanon had so much fun making Berkeley’s doll that she decided to make more dolls for other children suffering from cancer and other illnesses, who would like the comfort of a Feel Better Friends doll custom made with their own likeness and characteristics.
Q. Who make the FBF dolls?
A. There are a group of almost 200 volunteers in the US and other countries who donate their time and talents to create custom Feel Better Friends dolls all over the world.
Q. How can I help make FBF dolls?
A. If you would like to help make Feel Better Friends dolls we ask that you go to our volunteer page . There you will find options for volunteering and see if this really is the project for you. Or you can email us.
Q. How are the dolls made?
A. The doll bodies are crocheted and for the most part the clothes are also crocheted, but some of our crafters prefer to sew or knit the clothing.
Q.What do they look like?
A. While the basic doll is the same, each one is custom made specifically for each child to represent the child’s characteristics and features. Below is an example of the first Feel Better Friends doll created by Shanon for Berkeley. More photos of FBF dolls are always being added to the Feel Better Friends Facebook page found here as they are created.
Q. Is there a doll pattern available?
A. Yes there is! You can find the FBF doll and wig pattern here. FBF dolls are meant to be 100% donated and NEVER sold. This pattern is NOT to be distributed, copied or sold. This pattern is for personal use and should be used to make dolls for people in need due to illness. The purpose of the FBF dolls are to give comfort and love. Please help us to keep it that way. 🙂
Q. How are kids chosen to receive a FBF doll and how can I request a doll?
A. Dolls are given to any child with any major health condition that is serious in nature and can make the child feel ‘different’ than other kids. Each doll request is determined on its own whether a doll can be created for that particular child.
If you would like to request a FBF doll please fill out the doll REQUEST completely and email us the requested photos of the child. If you have any questions about your particular request please email us here.
Q. How long does it take to make a doll and have it delivered?
A. Due to the volume of requests that we receive it can take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks to get the doll request to a crafter. Depending on the details of the doll, most will take approximately 20 hours to complete. From the time you request a doll to the time of delivery, we ask that you please allow 6-8 weeks.
If you are in need of a rush order please explain your situation in the doll request form and we’ll do our best to have it to you as soon as possible.
Q. How is Feel Better Friends funded?
A. Feel Better Friends is a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization. We are funded 100% by donations. The money to make the dolls, along with the time and labor involved are all donated. These dolls are created with love and made possible by donations from people like you. Read below to find out the different ways you can help and to find out which way best fits you.
Q. How can I help the Feel Better Friends Project?
A. We appreciate any way you can help and there are several ways you can do that.
Monetary donations can be accepted through our go fund me page found here.
If you would like to help make the FBF dolls please go to our volunteer page.
If you would like to donate yarn and other supplies please go to our donation page found here for a list of needed supplies.
If you have any questions about donating please email us here.
For a complete listing of all the ways you can donate go here.
Thank you for your support!
Q. Where can I follow the FBF project?
A. We are on Facebook. Please follow and ‘like’ our Feel Better Friends page here.
You can follow our Feel Better Friends Pinterest page here .
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel .
We are also on Instagram .